WEDGE PRESS FOR USE WITH MAKING HOT OR COLD BEVERAGES AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USING SAME

Abstract

A beverage making assembly, including an enclosure assembly having first and second ends, wherein the enclosure assembly includes a first and a second plurality of notches and a first and a second set of perforations, a tea sachet assembly substantially located within the enclosure assembly, wherein the tea sachet assembly includes a tea sachet and a string having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the string is connected to the tea sachet and the second end of the string extends a predetermined distance outside of the first end of the enclosure assembly, and a beverage container having hot or cold liquid located within the beverage container, wherein the tea sachet and the first end of the string are capable of being located in the hot or cold liquid in order to make a beverage in the beverage container.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally related to a wedge press that is used to assist in the making of a hot or cold beverage by the placing of a tea bag/sachet in a cup of hot or cold liquid and removing and disposing of the used tea bag/sachet once the tea bag/sachet has been immersed in the hot or cold liquid for a desired period of time.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Prior to the present invention, as set forth in general terms above and more specifically below, it is known, that in order to prepare a cup of hot tea, a cup is filled with hot liquid such as boiling water or in the case of a cold beverage, a cup of cold water. A tea bag is removed from its sealed packaging. The tea bag typically comes attached at one end by a string. A tab or other similar device is attached to the other end of the string. The tab is grabbed by the user and the tea bag is lowered into the cup of hot or cold liquid through the use of the tab and the string. The tea bag then remains immersed in the hot or cold liquid in order to steep for a desired period of time. Once the desired time has elapsed, the user then grabs the tab and lifts the tea bag from the hot or cold liquid. The user may then squeeze of otherwise attempt to push out any remaining liquid located in the tea bag. The user then discards the used tea bag into a conventional waste receptacle.

There are several problems with this known method of making a cup of tea. First, the user may have to touch the hot tea bag in order to squeeze out the remaining liquid in the tea bag. In this case, the user's fingers may experience a burning sensation upon touching the hot tea bag. Second, the user may touch the tea bag when placing the tea bag into the hot or cold liquid and/or removing the hot or cold tea bag from the hot or cold liquid. If the user's hands are not clean, the user may transmit his/her germs to the hot or cold tea. Third, if the user does not properly secure the tab and the string to the side of the cup, the tea bag, string, and tab may all slide into the cup of hot or cold tea. If this occurs, the user then has to obtain a utensil such as a spoon, to retrieve the tea bag, string, and tab from the hot or cold tea. Worse yet, if the user does not have access to any utensils or clean utensils, the user may be forced to either use his/her fingers to retrieve the tea bag, string, and tab from the cup of hot or cold tea or the user may just leave the tea bag, string, and tab in the cup of hot or cold tea. Therefore, it is desired to be able to prepare a cup of hot or cold tea without the user needing to touch the tea bag and prevent the tea bag, string, and tab from inadvertently sliding off of the cup and into the hot or cold liquid while the tea bag is steeping (brewing) in the hot or cold liquid.

It is a purpose of this invention to fulfill these and other needs in the hot or cold beverage making art in a manner more apparent to the skilled artisan once given the following disclosure.

The preferred wedge press, according to various embodiments of the present invention, offers the following advantages: ease of use; portability; lightness in weight; the ability to keep the user's hands from touching the tea bag; the ability to keep the tea bag, string, and tab from inadvertently sliding into the cup of hot or cold liquid; the ability to easily remove excess liquid from the used tea bag; and the ability to easily dispose of the used tea bag. In fact, in many of the preferred embodiments, these advantages are optimized to an extent that is considerably higher than heretofore achieved in prior, known apparatus and methods of making hot or cold beverages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned features and steps of the invention and the manner of attaining them will become apparent, and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of the embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters represent like throughout the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is schematic illustration of an initial construction of a wedge press for use with making hot or cold beverages showing the wedge press enclosure sheet and the beverage bag/sachet, constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the enclosure sheet being folded over the beverage bag/sachet, constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the perforations and notches being added to the wedge press, constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of the wedge press with a bottom section removed and the tea bag/sachet hanging out of the bottom of an enclosure assembly, constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is schematic illustration of the enclosure assembly being located on the outside of the beverage cup and the tea bag/sachet being immersed in the hot or cold liquid, constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of the enclosure assembly and the tea bag/sachet being lifted out of the beverage cup, constructed according to the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of the enclosure assembly and the tea bag/sachet being completely removed from the cup of hot or cold tea, constructed according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In order to address the shortcomings of the prior, known apparatus and methods of making hot or cold beverages such as hot or cold tea, it would be desirable to be able to prepare a cup of hot or cold tea without the user needing to touch the tea bag/sachet and being able to prevent the tea bag/sachet, string, and tab from inadvertently sliding off of the cup and into the hot or cold liquid while the tea bag/sachet is steeping in the hot or cold liquid.

Reference is made now to FIGS. 1-3, where there are illustrated wedge press 2 having enclosure assembly 50 and tea bag/sachet assembly 100.

Wedge Press Construction

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, wedge press 2 includes the enclosure assembly 50 and tea bag or sachet assembly 100. With respect to enclosure assembly 50, enclosure assembly 50 includes, in part, enclosure sheet 52 having perforation location lines 54 and enclosure sealing lines 56. Preferably, enclosure sheet 52 is constructed of any suitable, lightweight, food grade, biodegradable, tearable material. As will be discussed in greater detail later, in one embodiment, enclosure sheet 52 includes perforation locator lines 54 that will be used to locate perforations 60 along perforation location lines 54. As shown in FIG. 3, perforations 60 and 62 and notches 57 and 58 will be formed on enclosure assembly 50 after tea bag/sachet assembly is located within enclosure assembly 50, as will be discussed in greater detail later. In this manner, perforations 60 and 62 will allow sections 64 and 66 (FIG. 3) of enclosure assembly 50 to be quickly and easily removed from enclosure assembly 50, as will be discussed in greater detail later.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, enclosure sheet 52 is folded over so that the ends of enclosure sheet 52 can be conventionally secured to each other along the perimeters of enclosure sheet 52 by a conventional food grade adhesive after the tea bag/sachet assembly 100 has been placed within enclosure assembly 50, as will be discussed in greater detail later. As discussed above, enclosure assembly 50 should be sealed using enclosure sealing lines 56 and perforation locator lines 54 as sealing guides. It is to be further understood that enclosure assembly 50 should be sized and shaped to be able to adequately enclose tea bag/sachet assembly 100, but still allow perforations 60 and 62 to be torn or otherwise ripped without damaging tea bag/sachet assembly 100. Finally, it is to be understood that enclosure assembly 50 can include graphical designs or other similar markings (not shown) that inform the user as to the variety and/or flavor of the tea in the tea bag/sachet 102.

With respect to tea bag/sachet assembly 100, tea bag/sachet assembly 100 includes, in part, conventional tea bag/sachet 102 and a conventional string 104. It is to be understood that any variety or flavor of tea, coffee, or other similar material that can be steeped (brewed) in a hot or cold liquid can be placed within tea bag/sachet 102. As shown in FIGS. 1-3, tea bag/sachet assembly 100 should be located within enclosure assembly 50 so that the tea bag/sachet 102 is located adjacent to perforations 60 and 62 and an end of the string 104 should be located adjacent to perforation 60 and extend outside of the enclosure assembly 50.

It is to be understood that the perforations 60 do not extend along the length of perforation location line 54 (FIG. 3). In this manner, the area adjacent to where the string 104 extends outside of enclosure assembly 50 does not include perforations 60 since the perforations 60 may otherwise damage the string 104.

Another unique aspect of the present invention is the use of notches 57 and 58. In particular, notches 57 and 58 are conventionally formed on the sides of enclosure assembly 50 such that the notches 57 and 58 are located adjacent to the perforations 60 and 62, respectively. In this manner, the notches 57 and 58 will allow the user to more easily initially tear the enclosure assembly 50 along perforations 60 and 62.

Wedge Press Operation

With respect to the operation of wedge press 2, attention is directed to FIGS. 4-7. As shown in FIG. 4, when the user desires to prepare a cup of hot or cold beverage such as hot or cold tea, the user pours hot or cold liquid 152 such as hot or cold water or any other suitable liquid into a conventional coffee cup or coffee mug 150 (FIGS. 5-7). The user then tears or otherwise rips enclosure assembly 50 along notches 58 and perforations 62. As shown in FIG. 4, after the user rips enclosure assembly 50 along perforations 62, tea bag/sachet 102 and string 104 should exit out of the bottom of enclosure assembly 50 and extend below section 64 of enclosure assembly 50. It is to be understood that as the user also rips enclosure assembly 50 along perforations 62, opening 70 is created along the bottom of enclosure assembly 50 (FIG. 4).

Once opening 70 has been created in enclosure assembly 50 and the user removes section 64 from enclosure assembly 50, as shown in FIG. 5, the user properly disposes of section 64 and then carefully lowers wedge press 2 so that tea bag/sachet 102 is immersed into the hot or cold liquid 152. After the tea bag/sachet 102 has been lowered into the hot or cold liquid 152, the enclosure assembly 50 is located along the side of the coffee cup or coffee mug 150 so that a portion of string 104 still attached to enclosure assembly 50 does not fall into coffee cup or coffee mug 150.

Once the desired amount of time has elapsed to allow the tea bag/sachet 102 to properly steep within the hot or cold liquid 152, as shown in FIG. 6, the user grabs enclosure assembly 50 and pulls at notch 57 to tear enclosure assembly 50 along perforations 60. In this manner, opening 80 is created in the upper end of enclosure assembly 50 to allow the end of string 104 to be exposed. Also, this begins to create section 66 in the enclosure assembly 50.

With respect to FIG. 7, the user can then pull on string 104 and section 66 so that a lower portion of string 104 and tea bag/sachet 102 are pulled into folded over enclosure sheet 52 of enclosure assembly 50. In this manner, the user may then squeeze or otherwise press on folded over enclosure sheet 52 to cause any remaining hot or cold liquid in tea bag/sachet 102 to be released from tea bag/sachet 102 and fall back into cup 150. It is to be understood that folded over enclosure sheet 52 remains folded over and sealed since enclosure sheet 52 was sealed along enclosure sealing lines 56, as discussed above.

After the user has removed the remaining hot or cold liquid from the used tea bag/sachet 102, the user simply discards the remaining portions of wedge press (tea bag/sachet assembly 100, folded over enclosure assembly 52, and section 66) into a proper waste receptacle.

A unique aspect of the present invention is the use of the enclosure assembly 50 to enclose the tea bag/sachet assembly 100. As discussed above, when the user desires to prepare a cup of hot or cold beverage such as hot or cold tea, the user then tears or otherwise rips enclosure assembly 50 along perforation 62. As shown in FIG. 4, after the user rips enclosure assembly 50 along perforations 62, tea bag/sachet 102 and a portion of string 104 should exit out of the bottom of enclosure assembly 50 and extend below opening 70 in enclosure assembly 50. Finally, the user rips enclosure assembly 50 along perforations 60 in order to create opening 80 and section 66. This construction of enclosure assembly 50 should not allow the user to contact the tea bag/sachet 102 which reduces the likelihood that any germs on the user's hands will not come into contact with the tea bag/sachet 102.

Another unique aspect of the present invention are the perforations 60 and 62 and notches 57 and 58. Perforations 60 and 62 and notches 57 and 58 allow the user to open the enclosure assembly 50 without having the user's fingers touch the tea bag/sachet 102. Also, the perforations 60 and 62 and notches 57 and 58 allow the user to create openings 70 and 80 in the enclosure assembly 50. As discussed above, opening 70 allows the user to locate wedge press 2 along the side of the cup 150. In this manner, the likelihood of tea bag/sachet assembly 100 coming off of the rim of cup 150 and falling into the hot or cold liquid 152 is substantially eliminated. Finally, opening 80 and section 66 allow the user to pull an end of string 104 located on section 66 so that the tea bag/sachet 102 is easily and safely removed from the hot or cold liquid 152. This substantially eliminates the likelihood that the user will come into direct contact with the used, hot or cold tea bag/sachet 102.

A still another unique aspect of the present invention is the use of the wedge press 2 to squeeze or otherwise remove the remaining hot or cold liquid from the used tea bag/sachet 102. As shown in FIG. 7, the user grabs section 66 and pulls on string 104 to pull a lower portion of string 104 and tea bag/sachet 102 out of the hot or cold liquid 152. The user then can pull on section 66 and an upper end of string 104 to pull tea bag/sachet 102 back into folded over enclosure sheet 52. In this manner, the user may then squeeze or otherwise press on folded over enclosure sheet 52 to cause any remaining hot or cold liquid in tea bag/sachet 102 to be released from tea bag/sachet 102 and fall back into cup 150. This also substantially eliminates the likelihood that the user will come into direct contact with the used, hot or cold tea bag/sachet 102 and allows the user to remove any excess hot or cold liquid from the used tea bag/sachet 102. As discussed above, it is to be understood that folded over enclosure sheet 52 remains folded over and sealed since enclosure sheet 52 was sealed along enclosure sealing lines 56.

A yet another unique aspect of the present invention is that since any remaining hot or cold liquid has been quickly and easily removed from the used tea bag/sachet 102 and the used tea bag/sachet 102 is located back within the folded over enclosure sheet 52, the likelihood of any inadvertent dripping from the used tea bag/sachet 102 has been substantially eliminated. In this manner, the user can properly dispose of the wedge press 2 without creating a mess at the area in which the cup of tea was brewed.

The preceding merely illustrates the principles of the invention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples and conditional language recited herein are principally intended expressly to be only for pedagogical purposes and to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventors to furthering the art and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents and equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure.

This description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in connection with the figures of the accompanying drawing, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description, relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and “interconnected,” refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.

All patents, publications, scientific articles, web sites, and other documents and materials referenced or mentioned herein are indicative of the levels of skill of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, and each such referenced document and material is hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if it had been incorporated by reference in its entirety individually or set forth herein in its entirety.

The applicant reserves the right to physically incorporate into this specification any and all materials and information from any such patents, publications, scientific articles, web sites, electronically available information, and other referenced materials or documents to the extent such incorporated materials and information are not inconsistent with the description herein.

All of the features disclosed in this specification may be combined in any combination. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is only an example of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The specific methods and compositions described herein are representative of preferred embodiments and are exemplary and not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention. Other objects, aspects, and embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of this specification and are encompassed within the spirit of the invention. It will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art that varying substitutions and modifications may be made to the invention disclosed herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The invention illustratively described herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element or elements, or limitation or limitations, which is not specifically disclosed herein as essential. Thus, for example, in each instance herein, in embodiments or examples of the present invention, the terms “comprising”, “including”, “containing”, etc. are to be read expansively and without limitation. The methods and processes illustratively described herein suitably may be practiced in differing orders of steps, and that they are not necessarily restricted to the orders of steps indicated herein.

The terms and expressions that have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intent in the use of such terms and expressions to exclude any equivalent of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention. Thus, it will be understood that although the present invention has been specifically disclosed by various embodiments and/or preferred embodiments and optional features, any and all modifications and variations of the concepts herein disclosed that may be resorted to by those skilled in the art are considered to be within the scope of this invention.

The invention has been described broadly and generically herein. Each of the narrower species and sub-generic groupings falling within the generic disclosure also form part of the invention. This includes the generic description of the invention with a proviso or negative limitation removing any subject matter from the genus, regardless of whether or not the excised material is specifically recited herein.

Other modifications and implementations will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the description hereinabove is not intended to limit the invention.

Therefore, provided herein is a new and improved wedge press, which according to various embodiments of the present invention, offers the following advantages: ease of use; portability; lightness in weight; the ability to keep the user's hands from touching the tea bag; the ability to keep the tea bag, string, and tab from inadvertently sliding into the cup of hot or cold liquid; the ability to easily remove excess liquid from the used tea bag; and the ability to easily dispose of the used tea bag.

In fact, in many of the preferred embodiments, these advantages of ease of use, portability, lightness in weight, the ability to keep the user's hands from touching the tea bag, the ability to keep the tea bag, string, and tab from inadvertently sliding into the cup of hot or cold liquid, the ability to easily remove excess liquid from the used tea bag, and the ability to easily dispose of the used tea bag are optimized to an extent that is considerably higher than heretofore achieved in prior, known apparatus and methods of making hot or cold beverages.

Claims

1. A beverage making assembly, comprising: an enclosure assembly having a first end and a second end,wherein the enclosure assembly includes a first plurality of notches located adjacent to the first end and a second plurality of notches located adjacent to the second end and a first set of perforations located adjacent to the first end and extending between the first plurality of notches and a second set of perforations located adjacent to the second end and extending between the second plurality of notches;a tea sachet assembly substantially located within the enclosure assembly,wherein the tea sachet assembly includes a tea sachet and a string having a first end and a second end,wherein the first end of the string is operatively connected to the tea sachet and the second end of the string extends a predetermined distance outside of the first end of the enclosure assembly; anda beverage container having an amount of a hot or cold liquid located within the beverage container,wherein the tea sachet and the first end of the string are capable of being located in the amount of a hot or cold liquid in order to make a beverage in the beverage container.

2. The beverage making assembly, according to claim 1, wherein the enclosure assembly further comprises: an enclosure sheet having a first end, a second end, a first side, and a second side;a plurality of perforation location lines located adjacent to the first and second ends of the enclosure sheet; anda plurality of enclosure sealing lines located adjacent to the first and second sides of the enclosure sheet.

3. The beverage making assembly, according to claim 1, wherein the tea sachet further comprises: tea, coffee, or other similar material that can be steeped in the hot or cold liquid.

4. The beverage making assembly, according to claim 1, wherein the beverage container further comprises: a beverage cup.

5. A method of constructing a beverage making assembly, wherein the method comprises: providing an enclosure sheet having a first end and a second end;locating a tea sachet assembly substantially within the enclosure sheet,wherein the tea sachet assembly includes a tea sachet and a string having a first end and a second end,wherein the first end of the string is operatively connected to the tea sachet;enclosing the tea sachet and a portion of the string in the enclosure sheet to form an enclosure assembly;forming a first plurality of notches adjacent to a first end of the enclosure assembly;forming a second plurality of notches adjacent to a second end of the enclosure assembly;forming a first set of perforations located adjacent to the first end of the enclosure assembly and extending between the first plurality of notches;forming a second set of perforations located adjacent to the second end of the enclosure assembly and extending between the second plurality of notches,wherein the second end of the string extends a predetermined distance outside of the first end of the enclosure assembly; andproviding a beverage container having an amount of a hot or cold liquid located within the beverage container,wherein the tea sachet and the first end of the string are capable of being located in the amount of the hot or cold liquid in order to make a beverage in the beverage container.

6. The method, according to claim 5, wherein the enclosure assembly further comprises: providing an enclosure sheet having a first end, a second end, a first side, and a second side;providing a plurality of perforation location lines adjacent to the first and second ends of the enclosure sheet; andproviding a plurality of enclosure sealing lines adjacent to the first and second sides of the enclosure sheet.

7. The method, according to claim 5, wherein the locating a tea sachet assembly further comprises: providing tea, coffee, or other similar material that can be steeped in the hot or cold liquid.

8. The method, according to claim 5, wherein the providing a beverage container further comprises: providing a beverage cup.

9. A method of making a beverage, wherein the method comprises: providing an enclosure assembly having a first end and a second end,wherein the enclosure assembly includes a first plurality of notches located adjacent to the first end and a second plurality of notches located adjacent to the second end and a first set of perforations located adjacent to the first end and extending between the first plurality of notches and a second set of perforations located adjacent to the second end and extending between the second plurality of notches;providing a tea sachet assembly substantially located within the enclosure assembly,wherein the tea sachet assembly includes a tea sachet and a string having a first end and a second end,wherein the first end of the string is operatively connected to the tea sachet and the second end of the string extends a predetermined distance outside of the first end of the enclosure assembly; andproviding a beverage container having an amount of a hot or cold liquid located within the beverage container,wherein the tea sachet and the first end of the string are capable of being located in the amount of a hot or cold liquid in order to make a beverage in the beverage container.

10. The method, according to claim 9, further comprising: interacting with one of the plurality of second notches;pulling on a first section of the enclosure assembly at the one of the plurality of second notches to cause the first section of the enclosure assembly to become removed from the enclosure assembly along the second set of perforations;allowing the tea sachet to exit the enclosure assembly at an opening created in the enclosure assembly when the first section of the enclosure assembly is removed from the enclosure assembly;placing the tea sachet and a portion of the first end of the string in the amount of a hot or cold liquid;allowing the tea sachet to remain immersed in the amount of a hot or cold liquid for a desired amount of time;pulling on a second section of the enclosure assembly at the one of the plurality of first notches to cause the second section of the enclosure assembly to become removed from the enclosure assembly along the first set of perforations;removing the tea sachet and the portion of the first end of the string from the amount of a hot or cold liquid;pulling on the second section to cause the tea sachet and the portion of the first end of the string to be drawn into the enclosure assembly; andpressing upon the enclosure assembly to cause substantially any remaining liquid in the tea sachet to be removed from the tea sachet and collected in the beverage container.

11. The method, according to claim 10, wherein the enclosure assembly further comprises: providing an enclosure sheet having a first end, a second end, a first side, and a second side;providing a plurality of perforation location lines adjacent to the first and second ends of the enclosure sheet; andproviding a plurality of enclosure sealing lines adjacent to the first and second sides of the enclosure sheet.

12. The method, according to claim 10, wherein the providing a tea sachet assembly further comprises: providing tea, coffee, or other similar material that can be steeped in a hot or cold liquid.

13. The method, according to claim 10, wherein the providing a beverage container further comprises: providing a beverage cup.